Oulu · February 2027
Northern lights in Oulu in February 2027
Answer
February against the rest of the year
February cloud at Oulu averages 77% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 3 points cloudier than its yearly mean. July is Oulu's clearest month at 66%. By civil night times clear sky, February scores 3.1 hours at Oulu, 3rd of 12. Haukipudas, 19 km away, averages the same 77%.
Civil night at Oulu starts February at 14 h 56 min and reaches 12 h 11 min by February 28, 2.8 hours shorter. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. True astronomical darkness, the sun 18 degrees down, lasts 9.7 hours on the 15th.
February night by night
February opens toward a new moon on Feb 6, with full moon on Feb 21, in Europe/Helsinki dates. Oulu gets 207 hours of civil night with the moon below the horizon across the month. The best of them for moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM: Feb 1 (4 h), Feb 2 (4 h), Feb 3 (4 h).
- 1
19% lit
14.9 h
- 2
12% lit
14.8 h
- 3
7% lit
14.8 h
- 4
3% lit
14.7 h
- 5
1% lit
14.6 h
- 6
0% lit
14.5 h
- 7
1% lit
14.2 h
- 8
5% lit
12.5 h
- 9
10% lit
10.9 h
- 10
17% lit
9.2 h
- 11
25% lit
7.4 h
- 12
35% lit
5.4 h
- 13
46% lit
3.1 h
- 14
57% lit
0.0 h
- 15
68% lit
0.0 h
- 16
78% lit
0.0 h
- 17
87% lit
0.0 h
- 18
94% lit
0.0 h
- 19
98% lit
0.0 h
- 20
100% lit
0.0 h
- 21
99% lit
0.4 h
- 22
95% lit
2.2 h
- 23
89% lit
4.0 h
- 24
81% lit
5.8 h
- 25
72% lit
7.8 h
- 26
63% lit
11.4 h
- 27
53% lit
12.3 h
- 28
43% lit
12.2 h
Each cell is the night that starts on that date. Hours are civil-dark time with the moon below the horizon; the green rule scales with them. Green outline: new moon. Bone outline: full moon.
Activity in past Februarys
Oulu needs Kp 2 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 703 of the 848 February days from 1996 to 2025 (83%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, one of the three most active months for that level; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 8%. Oulu sits at 62.3 degrees geomagnetic, inside SWPC's 60 to 75 degree band, where aurora can be seen on more than half of all nights. No storm is needed: by SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 2.
February across Finland
Oulu ranks 5th in Finland for civil night on February 15, behind Rovaniemi at 13.7 hours. Coming from January (16.3 hours at Oulu), February loses darkness, and March brings shorter nights (10.5 hours on the 15th).
Darkness and moon, every night
| Night | Civil | Astronomical | Moon-free dark | Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM | Moon lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon Feb 1 | 14 h 56 min | 11 h | 14 h 56 min | 4 h | 19% |
| Tue Feb 2 | 14 h 51 min | 10 h 55 min | 14 h 51 min | 4 h | 12% |
| Wed Feb 3 | 14 h 45 min | 10 h 50 min | 14 h 45 min | 4 h | 7% |
| Thu Feb 4 | 14 h 39 min | 10 h 45 min | 14 h 39 min | 4 h | 3% |
| Fri Feb 5 | 14 h 33 min | 10 h 40 min | 14 h 33 min | 4 h | 1% |
| Sat Feb 6 | 14 h 28 min | 10 h 35 min | 14 h 28 min | 4 h | 0% |
| Sun Feb 7 | 14 h 22 min | 10 h 29 min | 14 h 11 min | 4 h | 1% |
| Mon Feb 8 | 14 h 16 min | 10 h 24 min | 12 h 31 min | 4 h | 5% |
| Tue Feb 9 | 14 h 10 min | 10 h 18 min | 10 h 52 min | 4 h | 10% |
| Wed Feb 10 | 14 h 4 min | 10 h 13 min | 9 h 10 min | 3 h 37 min | 17% |
| Thu Feb 11 | 13 h 58 min | 10 h 7 min | 7 h 24 min | 1 h 53 min | 25% |
| Fri Feb 12 | 13 h 52 min | 10 h 1 min | 5 h 26 min | 0 min | 35% |
| Sat Feb 13 | 13 h 46 min | 9 h 56 min | 3 h 8 min | 0 min | 46% |
| Sun Feb 14 | 13 h 39 min | 9 h 50 min | 0 min | 0 min | 57% |
| Mon Feb 15 | 13 h 33 min | 9 h 44 min | 0 min | 0 min | 68% |
| Tue Feb 16 | 13 h 27 min | 9 h 38 min | 0 min | 0 min | 78% |
| Wed Feb 17 | 13 h 21 min | 9 h 32 min | 0 min | 0 min | 87% |
| Thu Feb 18 | 13 h 15 min | 9 h 25 min | 0 min | 0 min | 94% |
| Fri Feb 19 | 13 h 8 min | 9 h 19 min | 0 min | 0 min | 98% |
| Sat Feb 20 | 13 h 2 min | 9 h 13 min | 0 min | 0 min | 100% |
| Sun Feb 21 | 12 h 56 min | 9 h 6 min | 23 min | 0 min | 99% |
| Mon Feb 22 | 12 h 49 min | 9 h | 2 h 13 min | 0 min | 95% |
| Tue Feb 23 | 12 h 43 min | 8 h 53 min | 4 h 1 min | 10 min | 89% |
| Wed Feb 24 | 12 h 36 min | 8 h 46 min | 5 h 51 min | 2 h 3 min | 81% |
| Thu Feb 25 | 12 h 30 min | 8 h 40 min | 7 h 51 min | 4 h | 72% |
| Fri Feb 26 | 12 h 24 min | 8 h 33 min | 11 h 23 min | 4 h | 63% |
| Sat Feb 27 | 12 h 17 min | 8 h 26 min | 12 h 17 min | 4 h | 53% |
| Sun Feb 28 | 12 h 11 min | 8 h 19 min | 12 h 11 min | 4 h | 43% |
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Oulu in February?
- On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 28 of 28 nights at Oulu have civil darkness, and 83% of past February days reached Kp 2.
- How dark is Oulu in February?
- Oulu averages 13.6 hours of civil night a night in February 2027, from 14 h 56 min on the 1st to 12 h 11 min on the last night.
- How cloudy is Oulu in February?
- NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Oulu's 1 degree cell 77% mean cloud in February, against 74% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
- What is the best night in February 2027 for aurora in Oulu?
- By darkness and moon alone, Feb 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Oulu. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
- Is February or March better in Oulu?
- By civil night times the clear share, February scores 3.1 hours at Oulu and March 2.9. February comes out ahead.
Sources and verification
- SunCalchttps://github.com/mourner/suncalc
- NASA POWER climatologyhttps://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/climatology/
- GFZ Potsdam Kp indexhttps://kp.gfz.de/en/data
- NOAA SWPC, Tips on viewing the aurorahttps://www.spaceweather.gov/content/tips-viewing-aurora
Quoted figures last checked against their sources on 2026-09-30; next review 2026-12-31. Computed figures come from SunCalc and the IGRF-14 dipole as described in the methodology. Every quote is listed in the sources ledger.